Two B-52 bombers “Stratofortress“ (Stratofortress) of the United States were intercepted yesterday by two Russian Su-27 fighter jets near the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad on the coast of the Baltic Sea, an American official said today, quoted by Reuters, writes BTA.
The US bombers were flying in the Baltic Sea region to take part in exercises with their NATO ally Finland, which shares a 1,340 kilometer border with Russia.
The interception of US bombers by Russian fighter jets comes days after Russia launched a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile at Ukraine in response to a decision by the US and Britain to allow Kiev to strike Russian territory with high-tech Western weapons.
The bombers did not deviate from their pre-planned flight path and the US believes that the Russian Su-27 jets conducted the interception in a safe and professional manner, the US official said.
Russian B-52 jets also flew alongside Finnish F/A-18C fighter jets as part of a US-Finnish exercise in Finnish airspace yesterday.
A Finnish air force statement did not mention the Russian intercept, but said part of the exercises were “simulated air-to-ground launches demonstrating our ability to work together” and it is added that cooperation has also contributed to NATO's collective defense and containment in the Far North.
In a sharp reversal of its long-standing policy of military neutrality, Finland joined NATO in 2023 in direct response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters.